Edible Films and Coatings Used on Food Packaging: Applications and Properties

Abstract

Foods consist of living tissues so they cannot resist time. temperature and physical difficulties. There are three different types of deterioration in foods: physical. chemical and biological. The edible coating is a layer of material that can be consumed with the product. which is applied to the product as a thin film. Edible film technology is a new approach in food safety developed as an alternative to commercial packaging materials such as glass. tins and polymers used in active packaging. Edible films are the packaging materials of recent years due to their advantages such as simple production technology. variety in functional properties. being cheap. biodegradable and obtained from natural compounds The function of edible film coatings is to protect the product from mechanical damage. physical. chemical and microbiological adverse activities. Edible coatings reduce moisture loss and lipid oxidation. prevent degradation by inhibiting microbial growth. They improve food quality and shelf life by improving the mechanical properties of food by controlling oxy gen. carbon dioxide and lipid transfer. Preservation of phenolic content and antioxidant activities of foods by edible coating application reduces color loss in foods. Edible film technology, which will provide additional advantages to the polymeric packaging materials used in today 's packagmg technology. can extend the shelf life of the food and improve its textural and sensory properties. Recently. extensive research has been made on these coatings. In this study. edible film types based on various sources and the latest trends in edible film applications were Investigated.